'Flow' and a Brief Introduction to the Chinese Dance Scene in Malaysia

hajenmakeup Haziran 04, 2022

So, what's the deal with water? It's a necessity, it's something we can't live without, it can be destructive when it takes on the form of flood or tsunami. But in what way could it be a subject of a dance show?

Come January 5^th the first Sunday of 2014, a group of dancers from Han Fong Dance Ensemble will undertake this challenge in their next dance production entitled Flow. Inspired by the flow of water, the show aims to translate its fluid and shapeless properties through Chinese dance art and choreography, letting the body motion reflect both the tenderness and ferocity of the element.

Chinese dance, compared to ballet and contemporary, is a lesser known dance form in Malaysia. Along with the more popular types of dances, Chinese dance has existed since the 1970s in Malaysia and has been actively cultivated and supported by a small but strong community of practitioners. Every year, this community would organise dance competitions to promote the art among schools, and it is through these competitions that have produced dancers and a number of choreographers who have become the driving force behind Chinese dance in Malaysia. Han Fong is one such group that aims to promote and bring it to the fore of the local dance scene.

So what is 'Chinese dance'? Image of dancers in bright colourful samfus holding red silk fans, swaying along to festive drum beats and loud music during Chinese New Year would probably flash in your mind. Chinese dance is of course, a cultural aspect of the Chinese ethnic group, just like how Malay dance reflects the Malay culture and Indian dance for the Indian culture. However, these umbrella terms are somewhat dismissive of the richness and diversity of these cultural dances, thereby even indicating a general lack of understanding. Within 'Malay dance' there are many distinctive styles the likes of Mak Yong, Joget and Dikir Barat; while 'Indian dance' is such an inappropriate term used to address the widely differing classical dance styles in South Asia such as Bharathanatyam, Kathak and Odissi.

Being ex-immigrants from China, the Chinese community in Malaysia have held strongly to its roots for a cultural identity. And so, it is without surprise that we have also imported the cultural dance forms from our ancestral homes. Chinese dance consists of two major strands – ethnic/folk and classical. Given the vast land mass and different regions in the 'Middle Kingdom', there are richly diverse folk dances, most notably the Yang Ge （秧歌）from the Han ethnic group, Tibetan, Korean, Mongolian, Xin Jiang (Central Asia) and a wealth of minority ethnic dances such as the Miao, the Dai, the Yi, the Ha Ni and so on. Chinese classical dance on the other hand originated from the court dances and has incorporated elements of martial arts and opera over the centuries. Classical Chinese dance is therefore highly technical and possesses its own style and quality, using shen yun （身韵）or 'body rhyme' – which is movement driven by breath and in accordance to the natural flow of the body – as the basis of all movements.

Chinese ethnic minority dance - the playful and lively Miao dance

The bold and spirited Tibetan dance

The Yangge, which has origins from popular harvest festivals

The graceful and dignified Korean dance

The proud and enigmatic Uyghur Dance from
Xinjiang, the Northwest region of China

Classical Chinese dance has its origins from the court dances

Classical Chinese dance usually displays
high-level technique and flexibility

In Malaysia, we have adopted both the Chinese classical and ethnic dances. But recently there is an emergence of a movement to create Malaysia's own Chinese dance, the argument stemming from the fact that the original Chinese dance does not reflect the Malaysian Chinese cultural landscape. So while the question continues to be debated and explored as to what Malaysian Chinese dance is, Han Fong Dance Ensemble continues to develop and refine its own repertoire, continuing its quest to promote Chinese dance using the essential elements of the shen yun.

So, after digressing far from the main point of this article, Flow is a show worth spending an evening for and to see what Chinese dance, in the grass roots level of performing arts in Malaysia, is capable of doing.

Han Fong Dance Ensemble consists of dancers with full time jobs or study who wishes to carry on their passion in Chinese dance. The ensemble actively participates in dance competitions both local and internationally and provides dancers an avenue for performance.

The water trickles

without colour nor shadow,

travelling formlessly through

infinity.

Listen......

to the flow of water and the

stories it has to tell.....